Southeast australia thats already claimed at least 15 lives. Violence and arrests of protesters in hong kong kick off the new year with another massive march demanding greater freedom. For the sport the rockets star man is back from injury and back in business james harden shoots 35 points to help you stand down the nuggets in the n. B. A. Welcome to the Program Supporters and members of an iran backed group of withdrawn from the u. S. Embassy compound in the iraqi capital baghdad after a 2 day siege of americas biggest Diplomatic Mission leaders of the Popular Mobilization forces ordered them to leave but theres a condition they want to iraqs. Element of osama timeline for the withdrawal of foreign troops the protesters are angry about sundays airstrikes by the u. S. On the hezbollah brigades camps that killed at least 27 people earlier on when the crowds threw rocks and lit fires outside the compound irans Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khamenei has also condemned the u. S. Strikes and want to iran will defend itself if threatened the u. S. Dispatched an extra 750. 00 troops to the region following the protests President Donald Trump threatened to retaliate against iran but said later he didnt want a war some one of 14 begins our coverage with this report from baghdad. They left just as they had arrived a day earlier determined and angry but also pleased that they had managed to deliver a message to the u. S. Supporters of the iranian backed Popular Mobilisation forces who had defied the Prime Ministers orders to withdraw just a day before now heeded the call of their leaders while some dismantled tents and ferried away supplies used to camp the night out the more defiant ones staged a final showdown in front of the embassy gates burning tires and flags to the sounds of antiamerican slogans usa was let out of from our country we dont have a car we can brought it to ourselves was done really young voters. Out. Killed isis road and ran through. The attack on the u. S. Embassy was sparked by the latest u. S. Strikes against hezbollah brigades which is part of the Popular Mobilization forces the majority of the crowd consisted of its members and supporters but some here say they were also driven by what they perceive as an unjust american policy in the region this is my land. And if you want to stay here you must understand its. When the governments believe and understand our. Needs we leave. As crowds withdrew u. S. Helicopter circled overhead after reinforcements arrived from kuwait the night before the white house had pressured the Iraqi Government to end the standoff but it was clear that of floridas here didnt want to risk confrontation Iraqi Security forces surrounded the embassy but use no force to remove the crowds or the Iraqi Governmental forces have been put on a very confusing and sensitive position as i mentioned they have a very Sharp Partnership and an alliance with both countries the u. S. And iran so the Iraqi Government has to prove to the u. S. That its taking either a neutral stance or its protecting the u. S. Embassy because thats what a government has to do and yet to the outer gates of the Embassy Burned and vandalized bear witness to the Iraqi Governments inability to protect the u. S. Presence here the siege here at the u. S. Embassy appears to be coming to an end with u. S. Trade and Iraqi Counterterrorism forces now taking over the security and basically securing the area of the crowd but the hezbollah brigades have said that this is just the 1st left and for the United States they have vowed that they will not let them down until they feel the archer of u. S. Forces from iraq before the monopole to aljazeera put it out. Ok lets bring in our washington correspondent Gabriel Elizondo we understand the u. S. Secretary of state might pompei oh hes been talking to regional friends regional allies do we know whats come out of those conversations. Yeah hes been working the phones pretty vigorously on wednesdays been speaking to 3 very key allies in the region number one Benjamin Netanyahu the Prime Minister of israel spoke to pompei on the phone not much was released about what they talked about but the state department say that pompei of thanks netanyahu for his support over the last couple days particularly also spoke pompei oh by the a phone to iraqi Prime Minister. In that phone call pompei o stressed to the Prime Minister that the Iraqi Government is under an obligation to provide security and protect u. S. Diplomatic facilities inside iraq and stressed that the u. S. Is expecting that iraq will continue to do that over the coming days weeks and months but then pump ale also spoke with the qatari amir tomine bin hamad funny this is an interesting call they according to the state department that to spoke about the Regional Security issues in continuing to Work Together qatar is a very close ally of the United States on multiple levels on any given day there are as many as 10000 u. S. Troops on how did air base just outside of the capital of dog so these are very close relations here in the pump a 0 was speaking to the emir because of qatar because its a very critical country its a close ally of the United States of course but also a neighbor to iran and qatar has a tendency to be neutral when it comes to the conflict between the United States and iran so its a very critical country in that matter on multiple levels so this was a day on wednesday where pompei a was working the phones hard time up and shoring up diplomatic support in the region from very. Porton countries close allies of the United States as as they all try to come together pompei or at least in the United States to try to figure out the next steps forward in iraq very strong pictures of course gave you know the what was left of bits of the u. S. Embassy compound following the trouble early this week do you get the feeling where you are that the u. S. Military planners and thinking ok weve sent in several 100 more people theyve got to stay because ultimately weve got to keep our people safe and secure yes is the short answer to that as we said about 750 u. S. Soldiers sent to the region urgently to be there and its a sign that the u. S. Is not happy with the security that iraq is providing and thats very clear that theres a lot of questions still being asked in washington on how did these protesters get so close to the u. S. Embassy through that is it we always know heavily fortified green zone and the u. S. Is now asking questions maybe its not as heavily fortified as we thought and clearly the United States is putting troops in the region very close to the embassy very close to being able to get to the embassy quickly should they need it because quite frankly theres a lot of concern right now in washington the state Department Pentagon and even at the white house that there is not enough trust in the Iraqi Security officials to provide the security the americans think is needed ok kate thank you very much lets bring in Lawrence Korb peacefully u. S. Assistant secretary of defense he joins us on skype from washington as well is there a sigh of relief going on in the pentagon do we think Lawrence Korb no those militia protesters decided in effect to back down. Very definitely because when this happened to historical examples came up in this country one is what happened in benghazi and the other is obviously when the american embassy. In iran was taken already 1979 and i think a lot of people thought this might lead to that fortunately has not at the tape hezbollah has denied all involvement does the u. S. Absolutely flatly reject that well theres no doubt about the fact that the pm at the Popular Mobilization forces who are the Iraqi Military know what terri are is under the influence of iran and theres no doubt about the fact the great irony of this is that the troops that let the protesters into the green zone where they can get to the embassy who are regular iraqi forces who are not happy with the whole situation thats going on there with the United States are still in in iraq and the United States actually attacking our rocky bases with the objections of the Iraqi Government the president the Prime Minister who are minister and the ayatollah all told the United States not to make those attacks and yet i mean if we get granular on what actually happened old the timeline of what happened the iraqi authorities. And iranian aligned militia to walk with impunity literally up to the gates of a u. S. Embassy compound so the people who are running that operation was going through their mind when they see those people literally walking towards them and how significant was that. Well i think its very significant you know the great irony again here is over the last couple of months there have been a lot of protests im rocking back some 500 protesters have been joke about irans influence in iraq now with this did shift it and its american in war and so in a to a certain extent this has not played out well for the United States or to me no one was you know hurt or killed in the embassy and it seems like we have that situation under control but the fact of the matter is a rock the people in iraq rob of the journey against the random now turning against the United States are going to be very difficult for us to maintain these 5200. 00 troops we have. Ok weve had this statement from donald trump this came up what almost 24 hours ago saying i dont want to go to war with iran but key question is there a lack of nuance when it comes to the understanding of what the militias of all on the ground in iraq and also i guess in iran because the Iraqi Militia what key in the fight against Islamic State against eisel. Yes theres not doubt about the fact we we had to leave iraq in 2011 because of an agreement that we made with the previous government molecule government we were invited back when isis came in and we were where the a rainy and controlled militias to to defeat isis and i think the question now for a rat is well since that has been pretty much the beaded how long are you going to stay there because a rand wants the how to influence in iraq theyre also responding to the socalled maximum Pressure Campaign that the Trump Administration has put on iran put in a sanctions back on getting out of the nuclear deal and theyre trying to show as they go on when they you know attacked the oil fields in saudi arabia shot down the american drone that theyre not just going to stand by and let themselves be pushed further and further by the by the United States under sanctions not to mention the neighbor lexus lives it conducted with russia and china ok we have to leave it there Lawrence Korb there in washington thank you so much your insight we do appreciate your time thank you for having me the israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu has asked the parliament to grant him immunity from prosecution in 3 Corruption Cases now up to succeed hell have to win the support of a majority of members in the knesset requesting immunity is likely to delay any potential trial by several months imran khan reports now from west jerusalem. Just 4 hours before the deadline to request parliamentary immunity from prosecution expired the israeli Prime Minister appeared on television and said he would ask the knesset the Israeli Parliament to grant him immunity but one of the lead. Up its mine tension this time before the call to shatter all the public aid accusations against me day citizens of israel the mean achievement what is meant to protect. Us from tided law im serving political crises into harming the will of the people. He has filed a request with the speaker of the knesset but its likely to be months before m. P. s vote on it israel will hold its 3rd election in a year in march and they said you know his request can only be debated by a Parliamentary Committee wants a government has been formed it then has to come out of committee and be presented to knesset members to be voted on forming a government could take months. However some politicians are pushing to speed up the process holding the Committee Stage before the election already the request family unity has divided israeli politicians Avigdor Lieberman from the Israeli Home Party and an influential figure has said he wont vote for immunity netanyahu is only could party has said it will vote for immunity. In november israelis attorney general decided to indict Prime Minister netanyahu in 3 separate criminal cases the alleged fraud bribery and breach of trust the judgment on a short delay should i made the decision to issue an indictment against him and with a heavy heart a heavy heart perhaps but wholeheartedly with a deep sense of commitment to the rule of law to the Public Interest and to the citizens of the state of israel and. They said you know he and his supporters have claimed that the charges are politically motivated and that Law Enforcement and the judicial system in effect mounting a coup against him. Netanyahu now faces a tough political fight yes to win an Election Form a government and then persuade m. P. s to vote for immunity i mean if he only last as long as he is in office as Prime Minister or if he remains a member of the knesset the move will delay the prosecution of these 3 court cases by months or even stall the process completely until netanyahu is out of politics its already been a very uncertain year in israeli politics and the future it would seem is equally uncertain and wrong how does there westroads slim. Ok lets bring in ali jacobs part of the Truman National security project which works to develop solutions to the global challenges facing americans he joins us from new york welcome to the news hour here on aljazeera do you get the feeling that the chances of this request being approved or not where are we on a scale of one to 10 here. Well if it gets to the if they are actually able to form the House Committee to vote on it it will get voted down and knesset it will never get to the floor of the knesset but its also unlikely that it even gets to that stage so the even real likelihood is that nothing will happen until march at the earliest after the elections and then the election itself will just be a referendum on the immunity law which somehow netanyahu has largely avoided doing in the previous 2 primarily because he wasnt indicted yet it was still theoretical but also because people are still getting used to the idea benny gantz is the Prime Minister that may change drastically by march does that mean according to you that they could be something of a democratic deficit here because if they say fudge it and say ok we will put this on hold until march the 2nd much the 3rd when the election is slated to happen as you say it becomes a referendum on a constitutional process as opposed to being a general election which would be the 3rd one in less than 912 months which is its taxing enough anyway for the electorate right on tax and for the electorate and its not great to not have a fully functioning government when i say itll be a referendum i say that in terms of thematic well be a referendum itll still be the same sort of election the trouble is that right now all the polling suggests that the results of the election will be exactly what weve seen in the last 2 and itll come down to a vigor lieberman or someone from a Smaller Party being willing to. Join one of the sides or create a unity government but to create a unity government there is no chance that its and you know will remain as the head of likud is this politically risky as a strategy on the part of mr netanyahu no i dont see that as a choice and theres a risk in it to be sure but i dont see that he has a choice other than to do this ok ellie jacobs thank you very much. Plenty more ahead here on the news hour including the woman described as africas richest denies allegations of corruption in an exclusive interview with al jazee